Laboratory scale electrical resistivity measurements to monitor the heat propagation within porous media for low enthalpy geothermal applications

This study aimed at evaluate at laboratory scale the use of non-invasive electrical measurements for the characterization and monitoring of shallow geothermal applications. Electrical measurements could be indeed considered as a time and cost efficient method for the characterization and long-term monitoring of shallow geothermal systems. We have evaluated their potentiality in monitoring groundwater and soil changes under temperature variations by performing laboratory measurements under known boundary conditions in an ad hoc designed thermal box and to analyze the correlation between electrical and thermal properties for different media, taking their influencing parameters into account. This can be viewed as a fundamental calibration step for a further application of the methodology to a real case study.